The subject invention relates to a lock assembly and in particular to a lock assembly that, although essentially toddler proof, can be locked or unlocked by an adult without the need to use a key or to remember and punch a code into a keypad. While the lock assembly of the subject invention has many applications, the lock assembly of the subject invention is particularly well suited for applications where there is a need to keep toddlers from gaining access to an area, such as a swimming pool, where the toddler may come to harm or from gaining access to the contents of a cabinet, trunk, closet or storage area that may contain substances harmful to the toddler or other objects best kept out of the hands of toddlers.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission, in its publication entitled xe2x80x9cSafety Barrier Guidelines for Home Poolsxe2x80x9d, CPSC Document #362, states that xe2x80x9cEach year, hundreds of young children die and thousands come close to death due to submersion in residential swimming pools.xe2x80x9d CPSC has estimated that each year about 300 children under 5 years old drown in residential swimming pools. The Commission estimates that hospital emergency room treatment is required for approximately another 2,300 children less than 5 years of age who were submerged in residential pools.
In an extensive study performed by CPSC in California, Arizona and Florida in the late 1980""s, drowning was the leading cause of accidental death in and around the home for children under the age of 5 years. Of children in this age category, 75% of the children involved in swimming pool submersion or drowning accidents were between 1 and 3 years old. Nearly 69% of the children under 5 years of age involved in submersion or drowning accidents were last seen in the house, on the porch or patio, or in the yard prior to the accident and were not expected to be in or at the pool and 77% of the children involved in submersion or drowning accidents had been missing for five minutes or less. Approximately, 98% of submersion or drowning accidents involving children less than 5 years of age occurred in a pool owned by the victim""s immediate family, relatives or friends.
The CPSC Document #362, further states:
xe2x80x9cThe speed with which swimming pool drownings and submersions can occur is a special concern: by the time a child""s absence is noted, the child may have drowned. Anyone who has cared for a toddler knows how fast young children can move. Toddlers are inquisitive and impulsive and lack a realistic sense of danger. These behaviors, coupled with a child""s ability to move quickly and unpredictably, make swimming pools particularly hazardous for households with young children.
Swimming pool drownings of young children have another particularly insidious feature: these are silent deaths. It is unlikely that splashing or screaming will occur to alert a parent or caregiver that a child is in trouble.xe2x80x9d
As a result of these guidelines, municipal laws and regulations, and the natural desire for parents to protect their children, most home swimming pools are enclosed within a gated barrier to prevent toddlers from gaining access to the pool areas. However, frequently, the gates of these gated barriers, while latched by the parent or caregiver when they are not in use or are being used intermittently, are not locked by the parent or caregiver due to need to carry a key, know or remember a keypad code, etc. Thus, while these unlocked gated barriers function as an impediment to a young child gaining access to a pool area, the inquisitive, impulsive, unpredictable nature of young children coupled with their uncanny ability to find a way to open something, make these swimming pool barriers susceptible to unsupervised toddler access due to the ability of some children to find a way to unlatch the gate.
In addition to swimming pool hazards, homes typically have substances, e.g. paints, turpentine, cleaners, insecticides, gasoline, etc, that should be kept out of a toddler""s possession. These substances are normally stored in a shed, cabinet, or storage area. Again the need to lock these storage locations to prevent toddler access is essential to the safety of these young children.
Thus, to prevent children under 5 years of age from gaining access to areas or substances that can harm the children or cause their accidental death, there has been a long term need to provide a lock assembly that cannot be unlocked by these young children but can be easily locked or unlocked by an adult without the need for a key or the need to know or remember a keypad code.
The lock assembly of the subject invention can be made so that the lock assembly cannot be unlocked by young children, e.g. children under 5 years of age, but can be easily locked or unlocked by an adult without the need for a key or the need to know or remember a keypad code. In addition to providing a solution for restricting toddler access to certain areas or storage locations, the lock assembly of the subject invention is relatively inexpensive, durable and easy to maintain.
The lock assembly of the subject invention includes an elongated generally U-shaped shackle and a base block. The generally U-shaped shackle has a midsection and first and second arms extending from the midsection. An end portion of the first shackle arm is slidably and rotatably secured to the base block so that the shackle can be moved relative to the base block between an extended position and a depressed position and pivoted relative to the base block between a closed or locked position and an open or unlocked position. The second shackle arm is resilient whereby the end portion of the second shackle arm can be flexed from a first position toward the first shackle arm by applying a force to the second shackle arm that is directed toward the first arm and, when the force is released, the second shackle arm returns to the first position. The base block also includes a catch for receiving and retaining the end portion of the second shackle arm in the closed or locked position. To pivot the shackle so that the end portion of the second shackle arm can be moved into the catch to place the shackle in the closed or locked position or out of the catch to place the shackle in the open or unlocked position, the end portion of the second shackle arm must be flexed toward the first shackle arm.
When the shackle is in the closed or locked position, a locking mechanism retains the shackle in both the extended position and the closed or locked position. To release the locking mechanism so that the shackle can be pivoted to move the end portion of the second shackle arm out of the catch and the shackle to the open or unlocked position, the shackle must be depressed from the extended position to the depressed position and held in the depressed position while the end portion of the second shackle arm is simultaneously flexed toward the first shackle arm. If these operations are not performed simultaneously, the shackle cannot be pivoted from the closed or locked position to the open or unlocked position. The lock assembly of the subject invention can be fabricated so that the force required to move the end portion of the second shackle arm toward the first shackle arm (the force needed to squeeze the shackle arms toward each other) plus the force required to depress the shackle to release the locking mechanism are such that a child under the age of 5 years would not have the strength required to perform these operations simultaneously, could not perform these operations simultaneously, and could not unlock the lock assembly.
The lock assembly of the subject invention can also include an auxiliary locking bar, a cross bar, that can be mounted on the shackle to keep the arms of the shackle from being squeezed toward each other when the shackle is in the locked positioned. The auxiliary locking bar has a catch therein for receiving one of the shackle arms and a keyed locking mechanism for locking the received shackle arm within the catch of the auxiliary locking bar. The auxiliary locking bar also has an opening there through for receiving the other of the shackle arms so that the auxiliary locking bar can be pivoted relative to the other shackle arm between a first position where the one shackle arm is outside of the catch in the auxiliary locking bar and a second position where the one shackle arm is within the catch of the auxiliary locking bar. The catch of the auxiliary locking bar and the opening there through are spaced from each other a distance such that, when the one shackle arm is locked within the catch of the auxiliary locking bar, the lower end portion of the second shackle arm cannot be flexed toward the first shackle arm a distance sufficient to permit the lower end portion of the second shackle arm to be pivoted out of the catch in the base block. Thus, for example, a pool owner, who desires to have a barrier gate that cannot be opened without a key or a pool owner who is away and desires to lock a barrier gate so that the barrier gate cannot be opened without a key, can use the lock assembly of the subject invention with the auxiliary locking bar in place and locked with a key to retain the shackle of the lock assembly in the locked position.